Why is the probe about manipulating prices so important? Because bitcoin is a confidence game. Like anything else we value, bitcoin is only worth something because people are confident that it is worth something.

The problem with bitcoin is that it has nothing backing it up — you can’t turn it into jewelry like gold or put it on someone’s finger like a diamond. And it doesn’t have the backing of any country.

Confidence in bitcoin will erode when the price declines and nobody can legally prop it up through manipulation.